On the outside I am a polite, privileged, white twenty-something female. I am nice enough to gain the respect of most people around me. I sometimes have fun colors in my hair. I have tattoos and piercings that beg the world not to take me seriously. I wear t-shirts with political statements, and my new car already has political bumper stickers on it. I appear to be a loveable, approachable, kind white American female. I am engaged to marry a kind and approachable Christian white male, though I do not identify as Christian. People with power like me best when I don’t speak. People without much power sometimes don’t trust me.

On the inside, I am someone who has always believed in equity (fairness). I am a feminist. When I was 10 years old, I played on the flag football team as the only girl, because there wasn’t a girl’s team. I always thought it was good to be independent and strong, until later in life when that didn’t seem like the kind of qualities that a man might be interested in in a female. Though there have been many times in my life when I have felt oppressed because of my gender, I continue my march towards equality with patience and understanding. I allow myself to be independent and strong. When I moved to Minneapolis from the suburbs at 15, I realized that the world is full of inequity, and that I benefit from some of that inequity. Today, I do whatever I can to speak up for all of the silences that I recognize. I am fully committed to disrupting the systems that continue to oppress and stifle people. I believe that the best starting point for this kind of work is elevating our language, and focusing on our commonalities. Unity is power.